Court denies liquor license for all-nude Sayreville club

A judge has upheld the borough’s denial of a liquor license for a portion of the controversial Club 35, which court papers characterize as an “all-nude entertainment establishment.”
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SAYREVILLE – A state judge has upheld the borough’s denial of a liquor license for a portion of the controversial Club 35, which court papers characterize as an “all-nude entertainment establishment.”

The latest chapter in the lengthy legal battle over the Route 35 business began when Stock Enterprise, whose principal shareholder and operator is Anthony Acciardi, applied to the borough in August 2011 to activate its pocketed liquor license for only a portion of the first floor and upstairs deck area of Club 35, which is owned by Acciardi’s wife.

The borough denied the application in May 2012 and Stock Enterprise appealed to the state Office of Administrative Law, which affirmed the denial in April 2013.

Stock Enterprise then appealed that decision to the state appellate court, which has not yet heard the case.

Then on July 30, 2013, Stock Enterprise filed a new application for the license transfer, but only for the first floor. In October 2013, Sayreville refused to hear the application because it was substantially similar to the previous application.

Stock Enterprise then appealed the second denial to the Office of Administrative Law, arguing that enough changes had been included to make it different from the first application.

Administrative Law Judge Gail Cookson ruled earlier this month in favor of Sayreville, concluding “there is no simply no denying that Stock Enterprise intends to sell hard liquor within the same premises as Club 35 uses to provide nude entertainment.”

Under state law, all-nude establishments are prohibited from serving alcohol. The administrative court decision on the first application said that selling liquor only in a portion of the premises “completely circumvents the state’s alcoholic beverage laws.”

In his review of the second application, Sayreville Police Chief John Zebrowski found that this type of mixed use does not exist anywhere in New Jersey and would “blur the line” between public and private.

A federal lawsuit that Club 35 filed in 2012 against the borough and its officials, claiming that a municipal alcohol ordinance enacted nearly three years ago violated their Constitutional civil rights, was dismissed in April 2013.